Bayern crush Hannover 4-0 in German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich staged a faultless performance after crushing struggling Hannover 4-0 on the road in the 15th round of Bundesliga on Saturday.

The German record champions caught a bright start against Hannover as Joshua Kimmich capitalized on a clearance to volley home the opener with less than two minutes played.

Hannover were shocked. The visitors gained the upper hand on the pitch after assuming full control of the ball. Bayern produced clear-cut opportunities through David Alaba, Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski but still all of them lacked accuracy in the opening stages.

The powerful display by the defending champions paid off with 29 minutes played when David Alaba doubled the lead with a drop-kick hammer from 20 meters into the top right corner.

After the restart, Bayern continued where they left off as Hannover were unable to put up resistance. Hence, it was just a matter of time before Bayern got rewarded for their relentless performance. Serge Gnabry danced through Hannover's box and slotted home next to three defenders in the 53rd minute.

Robert Kovac's men showed no mercy and were not done with the scoring as Robert Lewandowski marked his 10th goal of the season after heading home Kimmich's pinpoint delivery into the box in the 62nd minute.

Bayern remained in control but protected their lead to the end against hapless hosts.

With the result, Bayern Munich cement the third place whereas Hannover slipped to the last place of the standings after suffering their ninth defeat of the season.

Elsewhere, Kaan Ayhan's brace helped newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf to beat Freiburg.

Daniel Caligiuri's second-half equaliser secured Schalke a 1-1 draw with Augsburg on the road.

Struggling Stuttgart came from behind to beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 on two goals from Mario Gomez and runner up Bourssia Monchengladbach dropped points after sharing the points with Hoffenheim following a goalless draw.

The following fixtures conclude the 15th round on Sunday: Leipzig face Mainz and Eintracht Frankfurt encounter Bayer Leverkusen.